Sunday, August 19, 2007

On Sunset coming into town, a motel wouldn't take VISA with out a driver's licence. Non driver's ID isn't enough. Discrimination against non drivers, so I headed on downtown. Found a more friendly place.

The trip is going well for the most part. Enjoyed my visit to Grand Coulee Dam. Also had a good ride over North Cascades Pass. Have camped most nights, but stayed in a few motels.

Spokane does have a great bike path that goes from downtown all the way into Idaho. Over 50 miles of velvet like pavement just for bikes. Plan to ride on part of it tomorrow, but have ridden the entire distance in 2005.

It's raining and the forests need it, but my socks are wet. I can change to dry socks easier than a burned forest can be replanted.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

With much of Bellingham's Fairhaven District getting so pricey, riding that retirement real estate bubble, there's signs the bubble's aging.

Nationwide and even here. How long can the bubble inflate? Dow dropping, sub prime rates ending. Was it over priced to begin with?

Left behind, so much of America that people cherished. Even in the midst of "high end city," there's still the empty storefronts.

I walked past these old rail cars. They've been parked for years in a circle. Held small businesses, but seem to be empty now. I am not sure what the story is, but I have also noticed quite a few empty storefronts in many of the new condominiums around town. People living upstairs and shops downstairs, but how many trinkets can the shoppers absorb?

Then I hear a large percentage of the condominiums, maybe half, are actually used as rentals. Good news for those of us who rent.

Can the bubble remain pumped up before it implodes.

Having the shop keeper live above work is a good idea, but the market is still holding up the malls also. Can those who work downstairs afford to live upstairs?

An empty space doesn't pay inflated mortgage, but it allows one a memory of things beyond "the bottom line."

Thursday, August 09, 2007

He was following the map on my web site from Vancouver, BC to Seattle. Called me before starting his trip. Visited as he passed through Bellingham. Plans to ride all the way to San Diego where he plans to relocate. Was living in Seattle.

I say, "isn't San Diego expensive?" "He says he finds some good rent deals by running notices on Craig's List. Lots of people owning McMansions are needing revenue to make house payments. Good news for responsible renters where even places like San Diego can offer good deals. Sometimes it pays to just be a renter, with the help of Craig's List and a lot of homeowners out there needing to make house payments.

Sunday, August 05, 2007

Someone tossed a market basket into the murky waters of Whatcom Creek. Photo from late 80s or early 1990s.

Folks make money pushing various fasts and diets for cleansing the body. Most of these aren't much good. My diet for cleansing the body is the diet I have all the time.

A high fiber diet.

The old phrase "an apple a day keeps the doctor away." makes sense.

When I was a kid, I changed the wording of that phrase to say, "an apple a day keeps the doctor unhappy." Basically that's if the doctor needs sick patients to make money.

Fasts don't mean much to me, unless prescribed by a doctor for unusual circumstances. I think of the body as being like a river. When stuff is flowing quickly through it, the river is clean. When it's starved and stagnate, the river gets scummy.

I say put lots of healthy and high fiber foods through the system. Cut back on fats and carbohydrates. And most importantly exercise a lot.

Exercise may be the most important component to keep that healthy river of clean energy flowing through the body.

Sometimes I don't pay too much attention to meticulous details of diet. An active lifestyle is great. When biking across USA, in 1991, I enjoyed the lean meat of a Buffalo Burger with plenty of vegetables. That was at the Wall Drugstore; a Disneyland style attraction in South Dakota. One sees the billboards for miles.

On another note, I haven't been blogging much this week as my life has been full of local activities, friends and bike rides. Weather has been so nice that I've been riding the roads and trails, rather than sitting in front of my computer. This room that gets real hot in late afternoon. Rather than getting an air conditioner, so I can stay at my computer, I've been riding through the breeze with my bike and eating lots of apples.